It’s that time of year again: time to look back at the previous year and the great ideas that were generated in the areas of copywriting and online marketing. I regularly peruse the blogosphere for articles on copywriting and online marketing, and this list represents the best of the best that I read in 2011–truly…
Category Archives: Writing Tips and Tricks
Why I Never Rush a Writing Job (and Neither Should You)
It’s inevitable: If you create content, either as a freelancer or within a company, somewhere along the way, someone is going to come to you with a writing job that needs to be done YESTERDAY!!!!! (My formatting here is intended to indicate the sense of panic with which you will no doubt be approached with…
When Chicago Isn’t Enough: How to Write an In-house Style Guide
Sometimes the easy part of writing is writing, while the hard part is usage and formatting. When you run into usage or formatting questions, you can refer to a general style manual, such as The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP Stylebook, or The Gregg Reference Manual. These manuals are all very thorough and authoritative,…
How to Get the Most Mileage From Your Content
Content, content, content! With online marketing, it’s all about content. Blog posts, e-newsletters, social media, articles, e-books, videos…whew! Who has time to generate all that content? I love writing, but even I can get exhausted just thinking about it, not to mention that, well, I have other things to do. I’m sure you do, too,…
10 Must-read Copywriting and Online Marketing Blog Posts From 2010
For this week’s post, I’m diverging from my usual format. To become better at my craft, and improve the quality of the tips I bring to you, I regularly peruse the blogosphere for articles on copywriting and online marketing. This list represents the best of the best that I read in 2010–truly helpful, insightful articles…
Give Your Business Writing the Authenticity Advantage
As the term “authenticity” has gained momentum in recent years, I’ve been surprised. Hasn’t authenticity always been important? Yes. It’s just that with the rise in popularity of social media and online marketing, a lack of authenticity is easier to spot. You can get away with a lack of sincerity if customers only interact with…
Features and Benefits 101
In promotional writing, it is important to inform readers what’s great about your products and services, but you also need to let them know how those characteristics will make their lives better. The things that are great about your products and services are generally referred to as features, while how they will make customers’ lives…
How to Spot a Bad Writing Idea From a Mile Away
Before you start the planning, researching, or drafting for your writing project, and WAY before you get into revisions, you need to come up with an idea. The idea is the true starting point for any writing project. There are many ways to come up with ideas, and you need to be able to evaluate…
How Credible Is Your Copy?
We’ve all heard that people do business with those they know, like, and trust. But, in the online age, how do you get people to trust you when they can’t meet you in person? It’s a gradual process, and the key is building credibility into the copy you use in your websites, brochures, newsletters, articles,…
Effective Web Writing
Web writing is different enough from other types of writing to have its own rules. The reason you need to write differently for the web is that people read differently here. Generally, people don’t like to read online, so they’ll appreciate anything you can do to make it quick and painless. That includes making it…
